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October – the heat is really gone!

October is an interesting time of year in Oklahoma to say the least. It is generally one of the more enjoyable months as for three weeks out of the year the temperatures usually hover around seventy-five degrees with light breezes that keep the air circulating. The leaves have just started thinking about changing colors, and the kids are out in their yards playing now that the oppressive heat that has plagued us since May is gone. This change in the weather combined with the approaching holiday season usually makes October a very fun and interactive month when people seem to be more inclined to get out and become active in each other’s lives.

People and children everywhere use this sudden display of good weather to get outside. The adults tend to do this by working on their lawns and doing landscaping that they have been putting off for the last few months. Now that they no longer have the sweltering heat to blame for their hesitation, they actually feel compelled to get outside and do something. The kids, on the other hand, are finally able to get out and play without their parents fearing that they might suffer from heat stroke. You’ll see them running up and down the streets, riding bikes and skateboards, or playing everything from hopscotch to tag. You also see a lot more people out walking, jogging, and roller blading during October as they are also determined to make the best of the weather while it lasts.

Also, there are pumpkins everywhere, and where there aren’t pumpkins there are dozens of giant blowup Halloween decorations that topple over every night in the Oklahoma wind until they are tethered to the ground at seven or eight different points in a pointless attempt to keep them in their designated place. They are supposed to remind us that Halloween is on the way, but you don’t really need much to remind you of that when so many kids are already out showing off their outfits, running through neighborhood streets to try their luck at trick or treating early.

Then, as suddenly as the hot streak seemed to snap and leave behind the ideal weather, it changes the last week of October. Almost always without fail the nice moderate temperatures of seventy and seventy-five will plummet on Halloween night, and there will either be a sudden onslaught of sleet/snow or the wind will pick up and gust, slicing through kids’ costumes and leaving them shivering on your doorstep. Either way, their little faces are usually so blue that you can’t tell whether or not it was an intentional use of their make-up. As soon as Halloween is over, the weather will once again return to normal, leaving the kids (and their parents) to wonder if it was all some fluke of Mother Nature.